Blairstown
district residents to vote on bond for
school
Existing elementary building is
over capacity by 240 students, officials say.
Monday, August 15, 2005 • By KAT MAIN • The
Express-Times
BLAIRSTOWN TWP. -- Residents will vote on
an $18 million bond referendum for the construction of an
Early Childhood Primary School and for renovations to the
existing school in a special election Sept. 27.
Blairstown Township School District
officials said the project is desperately needed to combat
growing overpopulation concerns. The funding is available
only if a majority of residents vote to support the
project.
"Our facility issues are not going to go
away. We're 240 kids above our capacity and are expecting
additional growth," said W. Michael Feeney, district
superintendent. "It's important that we address these issues
of enrollment now because the state has committed $2.9
million now. We don't know if there is such a commitment in
the future."
The state funding comes as a surprise to
the board of education, President Kenneth Bertholf
said.
"All school districts received
notification from the state that while grant monies might
not be available since state grant funding has almost been
depleted. ... When we received notification that not only is
our project approved, but also that the funding commitment
was more than we expected, we were very pleased," Bertholf
said.
The district's 2004-05 spending plan was
approved at $7,505,504 and showed a 6.44-cent tax increase
over the previous year.
Feeney said the increase for 2005-06 has
not been determined, but will be advertised prior to
voting.
He said the district was alerted to
overcrowding issues in 2001, after reviewing results of a
feasibility study. In 2002, the district purchased four
modular units to accommodate growth.
The school can keep the trailers for five
years, Feeney said, then it will be asked by the state
Department of Education to look into other
alternatives.
The current elementary school
accommodates 750 children from both Hardwick and Blairstown
townships.
If approved, the
54,000-square-foot-facility would house students in
preschool, grades kindergarten through second and
special-needs children. It would accommodate a maximum of
350 children with 18 classrooms, offices, gymnasium,
cafeteria, library/media center, community room and six
small-group instruction rooms.
A design phase could begin as soon as the
plan is approved, Feeney said. The phase would take a year,
with construction beginning in September 2007. The district
would hire architects Design Resources Group in Raritan for
the project.
According to the plan, students in grades
three to six would be housed in the existing elementary
school, which would undergo renovations to the heating,
ventilation, air conditioning and lighting systems and the
replacement of windows and doors.
The plan also calls for the sale of the
75-year-old Vail School, currently housing the district's
preschool program for children with special needs, and the
sale of the district s four modular units.
Reporter Kat Main can be reached at 908-475-8044 or by
e-mail at kmain@express-times.com.
© 2005 The Express-Times. Used with
permission.
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